Hatman13 Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Hi there, I always wanted to know this. In shows and in movies you always see mortar teems ducking and covering their ears when they fire. But it seems to me the noise is rather modest. It certainly seems quieter than heavy artillery, and even quieter than small arms. Is there some other reason for this? Is it the shock wave, or are they just bracing for a misfire or for incoming fire? I can't really think of what else it might be. Dan 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Not a mortarman: IIRC, the larger ones use a safety pin which is unlocked by the propellant charge igniting. Once unlocked, the safety pin (a small round bar) is engaged until a very powerful spring drives it out. The only thing preventing the safety pin from moving is the mortar barrel. Once the round clears the barrel the spring forces the safety pin out. Apparently it does so with a lot of force. That's what I've heard. Me? I've been near 'em going off. I'd definitely want to be behind the muzzle just for the noise. I'm not sure ducking 6" would make a difference if one blew up as it exited. Ken 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatman13 Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 My experience with weapons is limited to BB guns and modestly sharp spoons. So you are saying its the noise of the mortar? But on documentaries they show guys working with heavy artillery putting shells in and pulling out spent ones, but they seem to be impervious to the noise. Is a mortar louder than that, or is it just that the artillery crew has lost their hearing long, long ago? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNAFU Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I've been in proximity of 81mm mortors firing a couple rounds and I thought it was loud as hell. Definitely makes more noise than anything I've fired for sport. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafter11 Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Mortar range is controlled by tube elevation and the number of powder charge bags attached to the waist of the round. An Vietnam era 81 round came with 9 charge bags pre-attached and depending on the target range some or all of bags were removed before firing. The initiating shot gun shell in the base of the round was charge zero. If the round was fired with charge 5 or higher the noise was loud to LOUD. A charge zero round was just a "thunk" Since we used mortars mostly for close in defense about 50% of our fire missions were charge zero. The longer range targets presented problems for the mortars. As the range increased, the charge increased and the angle of the tube dropped. This combination resulted in dramatically increased sideways force on the baseplate. If the baseplate moved an inch the whole targeting math was compromised. The baseplates would have to be reset and the section fired in again. So, if possible, we tried to hand the longer range targets off to Arty. SSG D 1st Mortar Section, 2/501st INF 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNAFU Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 SSG D 1st Mortar Section, 2/501st INF Off topic: My son is in the 2/502. Coming home next week from Afghanistan. I'll be at Fort Campbell to see the plane land. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafter11 Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Snafu, Please tell your Son Thanks 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatman13 Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 As an aside - how accurate are the sounds of the mortar round actually exploding? It doesn't sound very explosive to me - it sounds remarkably quiet with a lot of "Woosh!" (sorry - not a sound engineer) and very little bas and hard edged sounds. Then again - I know that in movies frag grenades are way over the top in terms of light and sound and that a frag grenade in Real Life in no way looks or sounds like in the movies (The latter is designed to thrill and impress, the former is designed to drive shrapnel into flesh). Are mortars basically long range frag grenades and therefore don't sound like movie mortars? Oh ... another question. Was that scene in Saving Private Ryan where they slammed a mortar against the ground and chucked it like a grenade realistic? If so, I imagine its about as safe as playing Russian Roulette. Dan 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafter11 Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 As an aside - how accurate are the sounds of the mortar round actually exploding? It doesn't sound very explosive to me - it sounds remarkably quiet with a lot of "Woosh!" (sorry - not a sound engineer) and very little bas and hard edged sounds. Then again - I know that in movies frag grenades are way over the top in terms of light and sound and that a frag grenade in Real Life in no way looks or sounds like in the movies (The latter is designed to thrill and impress, the former is designed to drive shrapnel into flesh). Are mortars basically long range frag grenades and therefore don't sound like movie mortars? Oh ... another question. Was that scene in Saving Private Ryan where they slammed a mortar against the ground and chucked it like a grenade realistic? If so, I imagine its about as safe as playing Russian Roulette. Dan For what it is worth, I have never seen a 60 mortar in real life, so I can't answer about them. An 81 round is pretty darn explosive. I remember the killing radus to be 35 meters. Minimum range was 71 meters and we got shrap back on our own positions at that range. The shrap range on a hand grenade was farther than I could throw one, and they make a heck of a bang. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sakai007 Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 LoL, Thats the funny thing about hand grenades, you always want to see it go off, but you might lose something (eyes, ears, head) in the process if you do. Face in the dirt as soon as she leaves your hand (on the range anyway) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I suspect a lot of people have 'that uncle' who during family get togethers by the lake has to pull out his little black powder toy cannon to fire. BANG! And everybody's ears are still ringing fifve minutes afterwards. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNAFU Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I suspect a lot of people have 'that uncle' who during family get togethers by the lake has to pull out his little black powder toy cannon to fire. BANG! And everybody's ears are still ringing fifve minutes afterwards. That was me. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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